The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-11-12

proposition that the Deity must be pro-
pitiated and his favor won through sacri-
fees and offerings: the only question,
as between the Christian and the pagan
being this "What are the true sacri-
fees What the right offeringsp" The
pagan believes that God is appeased,
and his favor won by a great variety of
offerings, especially all such as are of
great cost to himself. The Christian,
of the class we have in mind, believes
that there is but one offering that will
do at all, and that that one is God him.
self in the person of man, who was
put to death as man, and thus made
the offering by which alone all other
men must approach God, if they expect
to please him, or to gain his favor and
the remission of their sins.
Christians of this class are particu-
lar to inform God, every time they
"seek his favor" that they do so by
virtue of that one Offering; and they
are careful not to close their petition
without repeating the words, "for
Christ's sake" or Gin the name of
Christi or some equivalent phrase. So,
practically, the majority of Christians,
as well as nearly all pagans, regard God
as being of like passions with them
selves as changeable and capricious
as limited in his action as partial in
the bestowment of his favor, and as
altogether uninfnite in his character.
The great wonder is that any man
who can see far enough to accept the
truth of Universalism, should still
cleave, in any degree, to this old idola-
try.
Now, what is meant by the divine
forgiveness ?-that the mind of the inf
mite Spirit undergoes changer Moth
ing of the kind.
We say, God forgives sin, just as we
say, the sun rises. This, like many
other expressions in common language,
and in Bible language, is the language
of accommodation, or the form of
speech that expresses the appearances
of things. The real fact is, not that
God is personally and specially moved
toward us when we repent, but that we
move toward him. He loves us, not
just then as he had not loved us before,
but we just then experience the light
and warmth Of his love, as we had not
before experienced them; and this,
| simply because we have turned our
selves to the ever-fowing and immuta-
BILE current of the divine affection so
that we receive the blessedness of his
favor, that he is always, without change,
giving forth for us and for all and the
effect upon US of this experience is to
take away our love of sin and incite us
to growth in heavenly affection. This
is all that is meant by the forgiveness
of sin; and we see that in this there is
no such thing as the remission of any
punishment that we already deserved
and needed, and from which we know
there is no escape, nor is there any
change in the mind and feeling of God.
According to the law of God, which is
the law of all rational and moral life,
every sinful action necessarily brings
misery into the life of the wrong doer.
When we cease from wrong action, the
misery also ceases; and unless the
wrong is resumed, the evil is in time
entirely outgrown. The eternal and
unchanging love of God to which we
turn ourselves, warns and rejoices and
strengthens us till we become so strong
in the heavenly growth that all the pain
of our sin passes away as all the selfish
love of our hearts is outgrown. The
divine love, through which all this
comes to pass, is Interchangeable. 1t
was the same in it's affection to us be-
fore our repentance as it is after our
repentance, though not before felt as
the same by US, because we were as yet
turned in mind and heart away from it.
This makes clear enough those Script
ures that represent God as by no means
clearing the guilty, and yet as forgiv-
ing iniquity, transgression and sin /; and
as forgiving men, though taking ven
geance of their inventions. I'M.